Techno mastering guru Ron Murphy RIP

Posted Sunday, January 13, 2008 @ 02:33 in Music by Joshua Glazer

We have sad news to report. Ron Murphy, owner of NSC Record Mastering, has passed away. Most outside of Detroit techno's inner circle might not know his name, but if you own any classic Underground Resistance or Axis records, then you've know doubt heard the work of Murphy, who cut the vinyl masters on a lathe in his basement in Westland, Michigan.

Detroit house producer Mike Grant posted this on the 313 Detroit Techno message board:

It is with a heavy heart and great regret that I announce the passing of Ron Murphy.
I was called with the news that he died of a heart attack sometime today.
Most of you already know of Ron and how important he was to the creation of Detroit techno so there’s not much else I can say.
A fund will be setup hopefully tomorrow to help with funeral expenses. I’ll pass on any additional details as I get them.

Mike Grant

Ron Murphy bio from Discogs.com:

Ron Murphy is probably one of the most instrumental figures in the history Detroit electronic music. All you have to do is take a good look in your record collection and look for the little NSC logo on the runout groove on the inside of the record. Ron has shaped the sound of Detroit Techno more than just about anybody. There were allot of records back in the beginning that were brought in by people that knew next to nothing about production or mixing down properly and Ron has saved the sound of those records and many of them have went down in history as some of the finest examples of techno ever made. Ron has been one of the biggest opponents of overcompression in the industry as people have rushed to bring techno music into the rediculous loudness war that the rest of the record industry is engaged in currently. His mastering is both dynamic and warm and has been praised for it's definition in the low end. A kick drum on an NSC mastered record is a beautiful thing to behold. He's a real living legend in this industry yet he remains humble and is still one of the most interesting figures in this industry that i have ever talked to. A true classic character.

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